The Japanese bubble is beyond fascinating. While the cycle of bubble/burst is not unique to Japan, it and its aftermath have shaped and defined Japan in a way that cannot be said of any other country.
Fascinating. I was just in Tosa-Shimizu last month and wondered at first why there wasn’t anything in the travel brochure about a solid gold fish. Now I know why.
There's actually an anime called "Sakura Quest" which uses the Furusato program of the 80's as a key element of its plot. The main character is young woman who just graduated college, and she takes a job working for the tourism department of a small fictional town in northern Japan. Her main responsibility? Trying to find a way to revive a gaudy tourist attraction the town built back in the late 80's, which has since turned into a rundown eyesore.
Your videos about the economic bubble and how the insanity of markets made Japan what it is today for better and worse has really changed the way I perceive the country.
While the money could have been put to better use, most of these projects produced great tourist attractions. I can see tourists coming to go down Japan's second biggest slide(3:55).
The world should all invest tons of their money in Japanese stocks & then open the market to buy all of Japanese goods & services so that it can repeat an economic boom like in the '70s - 80s again...
I don’t think many countries would see much of a incentive to do that just for the sake of japans economy to bubble up again but I do admit that would be pretty cool and I wish I could see a japan bubble 2.0
I truly enjoy your videos. I had a question. My wife is Chinese and my daughter is half as a result. How would they be treated if we moved to Japan? I'm not sure how the mindset is towards Chinese in Japan.
Thanks for the video love! 😊 In Japan, experiences may differ, but the bigger cities, namely Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka in the Land of the Rising Sun is embracing multicultural vibes! With that said, Japan is still very homogenous and there is some xenophobia beneath the surface. You might find renting apartments a bit harder, or in worst case, your children might suffer from bullying for looking different (this is not common in big cities as half kids are so normal here), but overall, the Chinese people I know in Japan are treated with much love and respect. Wishing you luck on your potential Japan adventure! 🇯🇵
There are many people who dislike China due to the hostile relationship between the Chinese and Japanese governments and historical background, but I think there are very few people who dislike Chinese people
nope. Japanese has been unique from centuries ago. Its culture which we see today mostly originated from Edo period. Japan is country with little resources. You need to use bamboos and woods to build most of its buildings not stones. Therefore, Japanese has adapted themselves into people live as well as possible with low energy and resources. That allowed them to establish somethings wacky to foreigners to live better in narrow islands and plains. During Edo period, at the early stage, authority has let people go foreign countries to expel extra samurais since they are not needed that much. What had happen was then have changed their religion into Christianity since European tended to do so .As a result Edo government people to go outside and work on internal things. They may have understood to build enough culture to repel foreign cultures. As a result today Japanese culture is consumed all around the world. Being different is a good thing. Mixing or globalism wont do good that much ultimately.
I'm not sure Japan is all about "standing out" and "expressing individuality". Because on a social level, it's very much a "fit in and don't make waves" kind of country.
Isn't it a paradox that a country so known for its consensus culture still manage to produce some of the wackiest and most innovative products and services out there?
While I will agree that a lot of Japan's apparent eccentricity is due to the economic miracle starting in the 1960s, the eccentricity itself is not completely abnormal. A good number of states have had periods of highly eccentric spending on seemingly bizarre items, ranging from the British during the industrial revolution up to recent times with China over the past decade with people building replicas of central Paris and daft things like that Zero Two Rolls Royce that did the rounds on the internet a couple of years back. I would say the fine line between the other states and Japan was the Japanese items tended to be public works as opposed to the indulgences of billionaires who do so just because they can. While at Uni I did a few essays on Japan's odd nature and, interestingly, a lot of it is due to hype and a want to "other" the Japanese people. A couple of the things I found were interesting, like the situation around the girl's panties vending machines or the huge girl statue pushing her skirt down with a rail line running between her legs (image in the thumbnail of this video). It turned out both were slightly exaggerated. On the Girl's panties vending machines it seemed to stem from a story passed over by an American expat in the mid 1990s who made wild claims that Japan was so very weird that he found the vending machine in question. What he neglected to mention was he just happened to find said gachapon machine in a really niche sex shop in an Akihabara basement, something that was, in truth, no different to what you would have found in a German sex shop, albeit with the Japanese love of vending machines thrown in. The phenomenon spread and, as people started coming to Japan in the early 2000s looking for the pantie vending machines, people did what all good vendors do when they notice a demand: they supplied. The girl over the rail tracks was also interesting, mostly because from my research, it never actually existed. The image seemed to originate from either 4chan or another anonymous image board in roughly 2007 or 2008. This was also picked up with a story from a similar site that pretended to run a story about locals who complained about the statue, demanding it get torn down. This was then picked up by a number of late 2000s / early 2010s news blogs like Buzzfeed or Kotaku and then spread out from there. As people had no concrete source on it they just kept spreading the story as it fed into people's biases of Japan being an absurd place. I'm not saying Japan is not filled with unique eccentricity, and from my traveling the country there have been moments that have ticked me, but I do think a lot of the hype about Japan being the weirdest nation on earth is based on biases and pre-conceived notions. As soon as you find yourself in rural Miyagi for example, it gets a wee bit more conservative.
I wholeheartedly agree with the 'othering' thesis. Japan is very aware of how foreigners, especially westerners, love the idea of Japan as wacky, and beat on that drum every time they're exposed to foreign media. However, Japan is incredibly wacky in ways not often discussed outside Japan. Some examples: The insane commitment people have to whatever they're doing, how a minimum wage security guard still acts more professionally 24/7 than a secret service agent for the US president. The crazy will to fit in, how a famous Japanese tennis player can win a game, and two days later, 90% of all elementary school students are enrolled in tennis classes. The attention to detail, how a spoon at a soup place is perfectly designed to scrape out every ml of soup from a bowl, or how a toilet magically appears every time you feel the urge to go
hmmmm... I understand the impact of the _furusato sōzei,_ but I think it misses two important facts: 1. Japanese society has always been highly conformist. The vast majority of Japanese people will never exhibit anything like creativity in their dress, their hobbies, etc. So I think you may be overstating things with "...create your own unique and wacky creation. After all, that's what Japan is all about." Japan has *never* been "all about unique and wacky". It has, for the most part, been about _not_ being weird or wacky; it's been about conformity to the norms, and preserving the _wa._ 2. In a highly-urbanized, densely-populated society such as Japan, businesses and products that hope to stand-out from all of their rivals have to do something to get the attention of visually-jaded customers. This inevitably leads some businesses to adopt over-the-top ad campaigns (Cf. the lipstick-wearing rabbit mascot of TaxiGo). That does not easily translate into individuality among *people,* though. Walk around, say, Nishi-Shinjuku and you will scarcely see a single Japanese businessman or bureaucrat wearing anything other than a dark suit, light shirt and tasteful tie.
Radiation poisoning wouldn't actually affect anyone except those who were right under the atomic bombs to begin with and just so happened to survive. There wasn't actually a lot of radioactive material in the bombs in the first place, and they detonated in the air, meaning much the hazardous material ended up being scattered in all directions and carried off on the winds. Because it was never concentrated on one place, it never actually caused much radiation poisoning beyond the initial blast...which is why Hiroshima, less than 80 years later, is a city of over one million people. Contrast that to Chernobyl, which was an explosion of an exponentially larger amount of radioactive material. Because it exploded on the ground, there was greater concentration of waste that didn't actually go anywhere, and that's why it's still dangerous to go there today.
The Japanese bubble is beyond fascinating. While the cycle of bubble/burst is not unique to Japan, it and its aftermath have shaped and defined Japan in a way that cannot be said of any other country.
Agreed! I'm kind of addicted to this topic.
@@CreepyBlackDudeWe need more bubble Era videos.
Fascinating. I was just in Tosa-Shimizu last month and wondered at first why there wasn’t anything in the travel brochure about a solid gold fish. Now I know why.
There's actually an anime called "Sakura Quest" which uses the Furusato program of the 80's as a key element of its plot. The main character is young woman who just graduated college, and she takes a job working for the tourism department of a small fictional town in northern Japan. Her main responsibility? Trying to find a way to revive a gaudy tourist attraction the town built back in the late 80's, which has since turned into a rundown eyesore.
Extremely entertaining and educational, Japan shows that you can show uniqueness even in modern times
under-rated channel
Peak aesthetics at 6:43. Amazing video!
Thanks for explaining this! ありがとうございます
Beautiful perspective of the Japanese culture!
Your videos about the economic bubble and how the insanity of markets made Japan what it is today for better and worse has really changed the way I perceive the country.
This is what happens when a nation is not spending most of its wealth on pointless and destructive wars.
I really miss living in Japan, I honestly wish I was still living there now, but of couorse it was not meant to be. I love Japan and it's beauty
ooh, why did it not work out ?
@@justdegleria7652Probably visa expiring or work contract ended.
While the money could have been put to better use, most of these projects produced great tourist attractions. I can see tourists coming to go down Japan's second biggest slide(3:55).
Why this is partly true, most of these projects either got destroyed/stolen or were left unmaintained beyond repair...
The world should all invest tons of their money in Japanese stocks & then open the market to buy all of Japanese goods & services so that it can repeat an economic boom like in the '70s - 80s again...
I don’t think many countries would see much of a incentive to do that just for the sake of japans economy to bubble up again but I do admit that would be pretty cool and I wish I could see a japan bubble 2.0
I truly enjoy your videos. I had a question. My wife is Chinese and my daughter is half as a result. How would they be treated if we moved to Japan? I'm not sure how the mindset is towards Chinese in Japan.
Thanks for the video love! 😊
In Japan, experiences may differ, but the bigger cities, namely Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka in the Land of the Rising Sun is embracing multicultural vibes! With that said, Japan is still very homogenous and there is some xenophobia beneath the surface. You might find renting apartments a bit harder, or in worst case, your children might suffer from bullying for looking different (this is not common in big cities as half kids are so normal here), but overall, the Chinese people I know in Japan are treated with much love and respect.
Wishing you luck on your potential Japan adventure! 🇯🇵
There are many people who dislike China due to the hostile relationship between the Chinese and Japanese governments and historical background, but I think there are very few people who dislike Chinese people
You will not be accepted
The movie scenes are from what movies?
It's a mix of multiple movies. Any specific clip you're wondering about?
Great little video. What is the music at the end?
Do a video on the consumerism in Japan.
Nice one!
background music ?
Why is the rest of the world so wacky and Japan is normal ?
that's a tuna, not a gold fish
It's actually a Bonito fish, or 鰹, but technically it is a gold-fish
@@konichivalueI thought bonito (katsuo) was a type of tuna, but it turns out that while it's in the same family, it's actually not a tuna :0
nope. Japanese has been unique from centuries ago. Its culture which we see today mostly originated from Edo period. Japan is country with little resources. You need to use bamboos and woods to build most of its buildings not stones. Therefore, Japanese has adapted themselves into people live as well as possible with low energy and resources. That allowed them to establish somethings wacky to foreigners to live better in narrow islands and plains.
During Edo period, at the early stage, authority has let people go foreign countries to expel extra samurais since they are not needed that much. What had happen was then have changed their religion into Christianity since European tended to do so .As a result Edo government people to go outside and work on internal things. They may have understood to build enough culture to repel foreign cultures.
As a result today Japanese culture is consumed all around the world.
Being different is a good thing. Mixing or globalism wont do good that much ultimately.
I'm not sure Japan is all about "standing out" and "expressing individuality". Because on a social level, it's very much a "fit in and don't make waves" kind of country.
Isn't it a paradox that a country so known for its consensus culture still manage to produce some of the wackiest and most innovative products and services out there?
While I will agree that a lot of Japan's apparent eccentricity is due to the economic miracle starting in the 1960s, the eccentricity itself is not completely abnormal. A good number of states have had periods of highly eccentric spending on seemingly bizarre items, ranging from the British during the industrial revolution up to recent times with China over the past decade with people building replicas of central Paris and daft things like that Zero Two Rolls Royce that did the rounds on the internet a couple of years back. I would say the fine line between the other states and Japan was the Japanese items tended to be public works as opposed to the indulgences of billionaires who do so just because they can.
While at Uni I did a few essays on Japan's odd nature and, interestingly, a lot of it is due to hype and a want to "other" the Japanese people. A couple of the things I found were interesting, like the situation around the girl's panties vending machines or the huge girl statue pushing her skirt down with a rail line running between her legs (image in the thumbnail of this video). It turned out both were slightly exaggerated. On the Girl's panties vending machines it seemed to stem from a story passed over by an American expat in the mid 1990s who made wild claims that Japan was so very weird that he found the vending machine in question. What he neglected to mention was he just happened to find said gachapon machine in a really niche sex shop in an Akihabara basement, something that was, in truth, no different to what you would have found in a German sex shop, albeit with the Japanese love of vending machines thrown in. The phenomenon spread and, as people started coming to Japan in the early 2000s looking for the pantie vending machines, people did what all good vendors do when they notice a demand: they supplied.
The girl over the rail tracks was also interesting, mostly because from my research, it never actually existed. The image seemed to originate from either 4chan or another anonymous image board in roughly 2007 or 2008. This was also picked up with a story from a similar site that pretended to run a story about locals who complained about the statue, demanding it get torn down. This was then picked up by a number of late 2000s / early 2010s news blogs like Buzzfeed or Kotaku and then spread out from there. As people had no concrete source on it they just kept spreading the story as it fed into people's biases of Japan being an absurd place.
I'm not saying Japan is not filled with unique eccentricity, and from my traveling the country there have been moments that have ticked me, but I do think a lot of the hype about Japan being the weirdest nation on earth is based on biases and pre-conceived notions. As soon as you find yourself in rural Miyagi for example, it gets a wee bit more conservative.
I wholeheartedly agree with the 'othering' thesis. Japan is very aware of how foreigners, especially westerners, love the idea of Japan as wacky, and beat on that drum every time they're exposed to foreign media. However, Japan is incredibly wacky in ways not often discussed outside Japan. Some examples: The insane commitment people have to whatever they're doing, how a minimum wage security guard still acts more professionally 24/7 than a secret service agent for the US president. The crazy will to fit in, how a famous Japanese tennis player can win a game, and two days later, 90% of all elementary school students are enrolled in tennis classes. The attention to detail, how a spoon at a soup place is perfectly designed to scrape out every ml of soup from a bowl, or how a toilet magically appears every time you feel the urge to go
@@konichivalueI love these examples
hmmmm...
I understand the impact of the _furusato sōzei,_ but I think it misses two important facts:
1. Japanese society has always been highly conformist. The vast majority of Japanese people will never exhibit anything like creativity in their dress, their hobbies, etc. So I think you may be overstating things with "...create your own unique and wacky creation. After all, that's what Japan is all about." Japan has *never* been "all about unique and wacky". It has, for the most part, been about _not_ being weird or wacky; it's been about conformity to the norms, and preserving the _wa._
2. In a highly-urbanized, densely-populated society such as Japan, businesses and products that hope to stand-out from all of their rivals have to do something to get the attention of visually-jaded customers. This inevitably leads some businesses to adopt over-the-top ad campaigns (Cf. the lipstick-wearing rabbit mascot of TaxiGo). That does not easily translate into individuality among *people,* though. Walk around, say, Nishi-Shinjuku and you will scarcely see a single Japanese businessman or bureaucrat wearing anything other than a dark suit, light shirt and tasteful tie.
These sound like the non-hood version of what a Rapper would do.😂
unhinged malinvestment
Japan is wacky for the same reason America fell in love with crypto: central banking policy.
best comment.
Without watching the video, my guess would be radiation poisoning…..
Radiation poisoning wouldn't actually affect anyone except those who were right under the atomic bombs to begin with and just so happened to survive. There wasn't actually a lot of radioactive material in the bombs in the first place, and they detonated in the air, meaning much the hazardous material ended up being scattered in all directions and carried off on the winds. Because it was never concentrated on one place, it never actually caused much radiation poisoning beyond the initial blast...which is why Hiroshima, less than 80 years later, is a city of over one million people.
Contrast that to Chernobyl, which was an explosion of an exponentially larger amount of radioactive material. Because it exploded on the ground, there was greater concentration of waste that didn't actually go anywhere, and that's why it's still dangerous to go there today.
気持ち悪い
Or it could be due to A Fat Man and a Little Boy!?